Glass Jewelry & Art Jewelry :: A Clear Difference

Not all glass jewelry is Trezora Glass jewelry

This page is intended for wholesale customers to understand what differentiates Trezora Glass from other vendors. Though the level of investment is different, we felt that our retail customers could also benefit from this information.

As with any product, one can find many types and quality levels of glass jewelry.

Trezora Glass jewelry differentiates itself in the following ways:

1) Innovative and fun designs made by Trezora Glass in the US.
2) Exceptional quality processes and materials.
3) Lifetime guarantee.

The Best Glass Jewelry Start with High Quality Glass, Materials & Processes

Glass:
Trezora Glass uses the highest quality materials in the manufacture of its glass jewelry. The Trezora studio uses glass specially created for fusing from well-respected manufacturers like Bullseye and Spectrum. The glass available from these manufacturers is compatibility tested to enable complex compositions of different colors without the worry of cracks developing during the fusing process or over the lifetime of the jewelry. Glass from other respected manufacturers is also available; Trezora simply prefers these two because they tend offer the richest color palette, the brightest and cleanest colors, and happen to be, for the most part, cross compatible. Furthermore, we use dichroic glass from specific manufacturers, CBS and Austin Thin Films, partly because they also have chosen Bullseye and Spectrum glass for their base glass, which also helps with compatibility, and partly because of their great quality and selection.

Another benefit is that glass from these two vendors is formulated to minimize devitrification (also know as devit). Though minimized, all glass can suffer from devitrification during the fusing process especially if the glass is to be taken to high temperatures or left too long at temperatures where the glass is especially susceptible to devitrification. As a jewelry buyer, understanding the complexities of glass devitrification is not important; however, understanding what devitrification looks like and how it is prevented are very important.

Devitrification appears as a dull finish, whitish or grayish in color, on the surface of the glass. In more extreme cases, the glass cannot only look scummy but will actually feel rough to the touch. Glass fusers will sometimes cap or cover their compositions with clear glass to minimize the possibility of devitrification during fusing. Though capping is perfectly acceptable, doing so in all designs can greatly limit the full potential of the medium. Another problem with capping is that it can lead to overly thick glass that either gets heavy (earrings) or detracts from the design. For this reason, several techniques have been developed to prevent or minimize devit. As you will see, not all techniques are acceptable for glass jewelry.

The easiest method to prevent devit is to spray a special fluxing solution on the glass prior to fusing in the kiln. The sprays can include Borax and other specialty sprays. When heated these sprays fuse onto the surface of the glass and prevent devitrification from happening. Borax works well on art glass displayed indoors. Over time, Borax used on glass jewelry will wear off leaving behind an unsightly appearance. Other sprays that are commonly used can contain high amounts of lead and clearly not acceptable to use on jewelry.

The most challenging method for dealing with devitrification and the one used in the Trezora studio is also the one that creates the longest lasting and most beautiful finish. Trezora addresses devit when it happens by grinding or sandblasting the offending area and re-fusing the glass in a profile called a fire polish. This method can be very time consuming especially if there are dichroic elements that must be preserved while the surrounding glass must be abraded. In these cases, a flex-shaft tool is used with a diamond burr to carefully remove the devitrified areas only. Otherwise the entire area is ground down or sandblasted past the devitrification to expose fresh glass. The glass jewelry is then carefully cleaned and put into the kiln for another 6-12 hour cycle at a specific temperature to bring back a brilliant finish.

Precious Metals:
Trezora uses solid sterling silver, Argentium (tarnish resistant sterling silver) and by request gold for all of its jewelry. Trezora does not and never will use electroplated or silver filled wire. Though sterling silver jewelry is not a hypoallergenic metal, far fewer people are allergic to sterling silver than to the nickel used in base metal jewelry. Nickel accounts for more allergic reactions than all other metals combined. For example, base metal bails will lose their plating with normal use and once worn off can cause serious problems like allergic contact dermatitis. Though the price of silver continues to rise, Trezora remains committed to using only the finest materials and will not use base metals for its jewelry.

Hand made chain clasps and earring wires:
How many times have you lost an earring because the earring wire was not properly balanced or long enough and the earring slipped out without your knowledge? Trezora designed its earwires to be extra long and properly balanced to minimize the loss of earrings. This means that Trezora hand makes every ear wire to meet its requirements.

Chain clasps can easily be purchased, but Trezora hand makes its own silver chain clasps because it adds an additional level of artistic expression that makes your Trezora purchase that much more special.

Glue:
The majority of Trezora�s glass jewelry is wire wrapped in heavy gauge sterling silver wire; however, sometimes the best aesthetic look is achieved using a silver bail. Using bails requires careful processes to make sure that the glue will not fail over time. Jewelry and especially the glue used in glass jewelry presents special challenges because of the varied environments it must tolerate. The glue and more importantly the metal-to-glue-to-glass interface must tolerate repeated times through a shower, wide changes in temperature, sudden shocks if dropped and many other forms of abuse. Trezora has spent considerable time researching glues and has done considerable testing of those glues. We use industrial formulations that can't be found at standard jewelry supply or your local hardware store. We tried them all, and they all these glues fail under typical conditions. We tested our glues by repeatedly boiling and freezing the jewelry and then subjecting the bail to over 25 pounds of pressure. Only one glue passed our tests and it costs hundreds of dollars per ounce! Fortunately, it doesn't take much per pendant and you'll never have to worry about having a glue failure.

More to come ...

Quality:
Mixing of colors
Exact cutting
Temp control
Haze/clarity of the finished piece
Cleaning procedures

Quality Control checks � before anything gets signed. Doesn�t pass it either gets destroyed, reworked or reinvented until we are satisfied

Made in the USA.

Color interactions, do the colors pop are are they dull and burned out looking?

Is each piece signed and does the vendor stand behind their product?

Here are questions to ask your glass jewelry vendor before you commit to buying:

Questions to ask prior to purchasing your glass jewelry:
1) Is the glass used compatibility tested?
a.Trezora: YES
2) Have any lead-based sprays been used to minimize devitrification?
a. Trezora: NO
3) Can you detect scummy portions on the surface of the glass?
a. Trezora: NO
4) Is the metal used in jewelry base metal or precious metal?
a. Trezora: Precious Metals - solid sterling silver or the more costly Argentium.